BUCKS; Drug Firm Recalls Birth Control Pills, Citing Error

By ANN CARRNS

Published: February 2, 2012

The drug maker Pfizer said Wednesday that it was recalling packets of birth control pills because some had been packaged incorrectly, potentially causing women to take an inadequate dose and possibly become pregnant.

The recall involves about a million packets, although only about 30 may actually have been affected, the company said Wednesday in a prepared statement.

The pills are the kind that come in a ''blister'' pack, which contains 21 active, hormone-containing pills and seven inactive pills, which women take to help stay on track. But Pfizer said that in some packages, the inactive pills may have been ''placed out of order.''

Pfizer said in a news release that ''as a result of this packaging error, the daily regimen for these oral contraceptives may be incorrect and could leave women without adequate contraception, and at risk for unintended pregnancy.'' The release lists details of the pills in question. Women using the affected packets should begin using a ''nonhormonal'' form of contraception immediately, the company said. (The pills were made and packaged by Pfizer and marketed by Akrimax Rx Products.)

Now, that's not what you want to hear, is it? It's hard enough to remember to take the pills every day, and then you find that -- surprise! -- even if you've been following the schedule, they still may not work.

Which raises a serious question: What if you end up pregnant because of the packaging mix-up? Is Pfizer offering to cover the cost of the pregnancy or terminating the pregnancy? Or to pay for other health-related costs, like the cost of buying another form of birth control?

When we posted that question to Pfizer, a spokeswoman e-mailed a statement that didn't directly answer the question. ''We understand that this news can be very concerning and confusing for any woman who takes birth control pills to protect against unintended pregnancies,'' it said in part.

We've asked again, and will update the post when we get an answer.

Last September, Qualitest Pharmaceuticals, a unit of Endo Pharmaceuticals, voluntarily recalled ''multiple lots'' of contraceptive pills -- also because of a ''packaging error'' that could put women at risk for pregnancy. A Qualitest spokesman didn't immediately return a call seeking comment.

What do you think? What is Pfizer's responsibility to the women who took the pills?

This is a more complete version of the story than the one that appeared in print.